I was sixteen
But I was very old
Children fell prisoner Alle Ist Gut
Hostile neighbors
They have witness
They have testimony Alle Ist Gut
The inhumanity
Is beyond belief
Children burning Alle Ist Gut
We were walking dead
Why did I survive?
The war was all over Alle Ist Gut
I became a human being again
Liberation
Was like a present Alle Ist Gut
I was sixteen
But I was very old
"Alle Ist Gut" is a German phrase meaning "All is well." I choose to use it as a backdrop for this poem to convey a feeling of disbelief about what was happening. It is a phrase a parent would say to a child to help them get over a nightmare, however the nightmare that was the holocaust can not be dispelled by a few simple words. So the phrase "Alle Ist Gut" must be used to remind oneself of life before the war and what life should have been.
I was sixteen
But I was very old
Children fell prisoner
Alle Ist Gut
Hostile neighbors
They have witness
They have testimony
Alle Ist Gut
The inhumanity
Is beyond belief
Children burning
Alle Ist Gut
We were walking dead
Why did I survive?
The war was all over
Alle Ist Gut
I became a human being again
Liberation
Was like a present
Alle Ist Gut
I was sixteen
But I was very old
"Alle Ist Gut" is a German phrase meaning "All is well." I choose to use it as a backdrop for this poem to convey a feeling of disbelief about what was happening. It is a phrase a parent would say to a child to help them get over a nightmare, however the nightmare that was the holocaust can not be dispelled by a few simple words. So the phrase "Alle Ist Gut" must be used to remind oneself of life before the war and what life should have been.